Rob(counting out money) Oh hi, I'm just counting up all my money… actually, Feifei, could I borrow £100, please?

Feifei£100? That's a lot of money. What do you need it for?

RobWell, with all my savings plus your £100, I'll just have enough.

FeifeiFor what?!

RobTo invest in this new company my friend is setting up. He's invented this machine where you can talk to people anywhere in the world and there are no wires or cables. It's going to be a huge success.

FeifeiRob, that sounds to me like a mobile phone – that's already been invented.

RobYeah but you can also type messages on it and send them to other people. Absolutely amazing! If this is successful my investment is going to make me millions of pounds!

RobWhat? I'm not investing in eggs – this is real money. And what do you mean about one basket? I wasn't going to put the money in a basket!

FeifeiIt's a saying! 'Don't put all your eggs in one basket' – it's an expression that means you should never rely on just one plan because it could go wrong. Rob, don't use all of your savings on this one idea – it might fail.

RobFail? Do you really think so? Are you really saying putting all my eggs – or my money - in one basket is too risky?

ExamplesMy dad says I should buy shares in a lot of different companies, and not put all my eggs in the one basket. He said my money would be safer that way.

You shouldn’t just apply for one job. What happens if you don’t get it? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

When he was younger, Michael didn’t put all his eggs in one basket, he invested in many business ideas. Now he’s a very rich and successful businessman.

FeifeiSo, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Have you got the message, Rob?

RobYes. So, I mustn't depend on one idea to make me rich. I'm not so sure about my friend's new idea anyway, but does that mean you won't lend me £100?

FeifeiNo.

RobWhat about for my other cracking good idea - one that you really will need a basket for?

FeifeiWhat is it?

RobI have bought a chicken. It means I won't have to buy eggs at the supermarket anymore. It will save me lots of money. Oh look, she's just laid her first egg… here, Feifei, catch. Can you put that in the basket for me?

Answers

How do I use it?

‘Put all your eggs in one basket’ is made with the verb ‘put’. ‘Put’ is irregular in both the past simple and the past participle. Look at these examples:

I never put all my eggs in one basket. (present simple)

I put all my eggs in one basket when I spent my savings on that old house. (past simple)

He has put all his eggs in one basket, buying that company. (present perfect)

You need to enable JavaScript to use this activity.

To put all your eggs in one basket

3 Questions

Choose the correct answer.ነቲ ቅኑዕ መልሲ ምረጹ።

Help

Close

Bài tập

Choose the correct answer.ነቲ ቅኑዕ መልሲ ምረጹ።

Hint

ከም ሓሳብ ብምሉኣቶም እንቋቝሖታት ኣብ ሓደ ዘንቢል ምቕማጦም ጽቡቕ ድዩ? እቲ ዘንቢል እንተ ኣውደቕኩምዎ`ኸ?

Question 1 of 3

Help

Which is the correct definition of ‘to put all your eggs in one basket’?

aTo rely on one plan only.V2VsbCBkb25lISBUaGF04oCZcyBjb3JyZWN0Lg==

bTo work hard and save money.VGhhdOKAmXMgYW4gaW5jb3JyZWN0IGFuc3dlci4gWW91J3JlIHJpZ2h0IC0gd2Ugb2Z0ZW4gdXNlIHRoaXMgZXhwcmVzc2lvbiB3aGVuIHRhbGtpbmcgYWJvdXQgbW9uZXksIGJ1dCBpdCdzIG5vdCBhYm91dCBzYXZpbmcgbW9uZXku

cTo keep all your possessions in one safe place.VGhhdOKAmXMgYW4gaW5jb3JyZWN0IGFuc3dlci4gJ0Jhc2tldCcgaXMgbm90IGRlc2NyaWJpbmcgYSBsaXRlcmFsIHBsYWNlLg==

Help

Close

Bài tập

Choose the correct answer.ነቲ ቅኑዕ መልሲ ምረጹ።

Hint

ኵሎም እንቋቝሖ ኣበይ ካብ ምቕማጥ ክንቝጠብ ይግብኣና?

Question 2 of 3

Help

Which of these sentences uses the expression correctly?

aI don’t understand people who put all their eggs in one box.VGhhdOKAmXMgYW4gaW5jb3JyZWN0IGFuc3dlci4gSXQgc2hvdWxkIGJlICdiYXNrZXQnLg==

bIt’s risky to put all your eggs in one basket.V2VsbCBkb25lISBUaGF04oCZcyB0aGUgY29ycmVjdCBleHByZXNzaW9uLg==

Help

Close

Bài tập

Choose the correct answer.ነቲ ቅኑዕ መልሲ ምረጹ።

Hint

ኣስተውዕሉ፡ እዚ ሓረግ ብዛዕባ ዘስግእ ዉሳኔ ዘይምውሳድ’ዩ።

Question 3 of 3

Help

Which of these sentences uses the meaning of the expression correctly?

aIt’s not a good idea to keep your eggs loosely in the fridge. It might be better to put all your eggs in one basket.VGhhdOKAmXMgYW4gaW5jb3JyZWN0IGFuc3dlci4gVGhpcyBzZW50ZW5jZSBpcyB1c2luZyB0aGUgZXhwcmVzc2lvbiBsaXRlcmFsbHku

bHave you thought about putting all your eggs in one basket? It's a great way to make money.VGhhdOKAmXMgYW4gaW5jb3JyZWN0IGFuc3dlci4gSXQncyB0aGUgb3Bwb3NpdGUgb2YgdGhlIGV4cHJlc3Npb25zJ3MgdHJ1ZSBtZWFuaW5nLg==

cWe should think of a backup plan in case this one fails. It’s not a good idea to put all our eggs in one basket.V2VsbCBkb25lISBUaGF04oCZcyB0aGUgY29ycmVjdCBtZWFuaW5nIG9mIHRoZSBleHByZXNzaW9uLg==

Which is the correct definition of ‘to put all your eggs in one basket’?

Sai

2

Which of these sentences uses the expression correctly?

Sai

3

Which of these sentences uses the meaning of the expression correctly?

Sai

Over to you!

Have you ever ‘put all your eggs in one basket’? What was the situation? What happened? Come and tell us on our Facebook group.

Join us for our next episode of English Expressions, when we will learn more useful language and practise your listening skills.ኣብቲ ጠቓሚ ቋንቋ እትመሃርሉን ናይ ምስማዕ ክለትኩም እትለማመድሉን ዝቕጽል መደብ English Expressions የራኽበና።